Stefan Zweig

From the day she is born, Mary Stuart's hand in marriage is coveted with such "rough wooing" her mother sends the five-year-old Queen of Scotland to France as the betrothed of Dauphin Francois whom she marries at 15. Mary's reign as Queen of France comes to an abrupt end after only a year, upon the death of Francois at the age of 16. Having lost her claim to the French throne, Mary returns alone to Scotland. As a Catholic, she faces the hostility...